A Scarlet Love
by kazorashi
Summary: Enma quickly falls in love with Haru without really realizing who she is.
1. So We Meet at the Convenience Store

.

 **A Red Head Love**

.

.

.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! in any way or fashion.**

.

.

 _Summary:_ Enma quickly falls in love with Haru without really realizing who she is.

.

 _(A/N: After seeing the way Enma gets the short end of the stick in my 5986 fics, here is a story dedicated to him! Because he and Haru are my OTP 2. Lol, smh.)_

* * *

She finds him one evening, without his guardians. It was late, the last of the sun setting behind the dark clouds. Located in a convenience store, Enma is in front of the cashier, wanting to buy some snacks for him and his Guardians. However, true to Koyo's name for him as "Loser Enma", he finds himself penniless.

He realizes quickly that he forgot his wallet.

Embarrassed, the red head glances up at the cashier and winces at the irritated look he wears. He's an older man with a balding spot, round belly, and large nose. "I-I can still pay for this." He tells him meekly. Both he and the cashier know that he won't be able to. What man with no money can pay anything these days? Still, that does not stop Enma from checking his pockets for the fifth time _just in case_.

"Hahi, what's taking so long?" A joyful, curious voice whispers behind him. Enma can feel the tip of his ears heat up. Too embarrassed to look behind him, he hurriedly whispers to the cashier.

"C-Can you hold these?" He asks with desperation. "I"ll be back in five minutes." Enma lives ten minutes away.

The cashier looks straight at him. "No." He replies in a flat tone. Enma gulps.

"But I..."

"Cashier-san!" The voice from earlier calls and soon, Enma finds a girl standing right next to him. She is a pretty little thing with a cheerful aura about her. Her ebony hair is clipped to side forming a pony tail, revealing porcelain skin covered in a spaghetti strapped top. Enma's ruby colored eyes can't help but linger down her body, growing flushed at the sight of her legs barely being covered by her "shorts." Looking firm but soft, they end with her feet in flip flops. Her feet were small and dainty.

He shakes his head at that. _'Dainty? Can feet be dainty?'_ Worried about where these thoughts were coming from, Enma watches as the nameless girl suddenly has her eyes on him. He can feel his heart thump loudly at the soft look she watches him with. _'Is that cake?'_ He thinks to himself as the girl gives off the sweet aroma. He never knew cake to be a smell of a person before, but somehow he thinks it fits her.

"Here you go!" She hands him two large bags with a smile. For a moment, the head of the Simon Famiglia thinks he'd carry any bag for her if it means she'd continue to look at him that way. "This is for you!" Wordlessly, he checks the bags and gasps. He looks at the girl with wide eyes.

"D-Did you pay for this?" He asks, guilt quickly eating away at him. "I-I can't... Please, I..." He tries to push the bags back to her, even though they have his stuff. "I couldn't ask you do this." The girl smiles with her eyes, amused with his reaction.

"Hahi, don't worry. You didn't ask me, I did it because I wanted to." She assures him, making sure the bags stayed in his hands. Enma can laughter in her voice, but it's not the mocking kind.

 _'It's pretty.'_ He tells himself, thanking the girl over and over as she buys what she wanted. Together, they leave store. "I-I'm Kozato Enma by the way." He tells her nervously.

"I'm Miura Haru. But just call me Haru, everyone else does. 'Miura-san' is more of my otou-san's name anyway." The girl, Haru, laughs at her silly introduction. Enma bites his lower lip, trying to fight off a growing smile. Haru is a very pretty girl, cheerful and exudes an almost womanly feeling. She seems like she's his age and he wants to ask, his shy demeanor prevents him from doing so.

"I-I see." He stutters, feeling nervous butterflies in his belly. Unconsciously, he follows Haru as she begins to walk away. "If there's anything I can do to repay you, please let me know." Calling out to her, Haru freezes in her steps. She looks back at him, for a moment, serious. Her eye brow furrow close to her nose and it looks like she wants to say something. That look passes by too fast though and is quickly replaced a relaxed smile.

"I'm okay." She cheers and begins walking away again. Enma feels crushed by that sudden brush off.

 _'Gosh, what're you doing?! Of course someone as pretty as her isn't going to hang out with you. She just met you!'_ He berates himself. _'We only know each other's names.'_ Still, looking at Haru as she continues on her way, he can't help but feel a pull towards her. He wants to go after her but that would fall a little on the creepy side. So he stands there, wishing she'd turn around.

And she does, much to his surprise.

Haru looks back at him, contemplates something to herself and rushes back. "Actually!" She calls out hurriedly, face flushed. Enma, quick on his feet, pretends to busy himself looking into his bags. He tries not to give the impression that he was looking at looking at her as she strode off despite doing exactly that. Haru stands in front of him and he looks up.

"Y-Yeah?" He inquires. Haru looks hesitant for a moment before shaking her head.

"I'd like to take you up on that offer, if it still stands of course." Enma smiles at this.

"Of course, what did you have in mind?"

Haru brings up the bag she was holding, containing all of her stuff. "Well..."

:::::::

"Wow." Is all Enma can say as he listened to Haru's story, taking in everything she told him. They sit at Namimori park, alone and side to side on the steps leading up to the large slide. By their feet is all the chips, sodas, and candy they just bought. Dusk is settling in nicely and she shivers. Enma hands her his sweater without saying a word. She gives him a thankful look and puts it on. "He's such a jerk." Is all he says, trying not to comment on how good she looks in his red sweater. Haru laughs.

"He's not." She argues light and places her hands together. "I was just silly to think I had a chance to begin with." The red head frowns at that.

"It's not silly. He gave way too many mixed signals." Haru, his new friend, told him about a boy she loved for almost two years. She didn't give any names (not that he would have asked) and was recently rejected. Like, very recent.

Today recent.

That's why Haru went to the convenience store to buy a lot of junk food to help make herself feel better. And while she was telling him how great this guy was, Enma just couldn't agree. "He shouldn't have led you on like that or should have at least been forward with his feelings." He tells her, angry at the boy for breaking her heart. "Any man would have done that, he was cowardly."

"He's kind-desu." She says in a trembling voice.

"It's that kindness that hurt you in the first place." Enma takes a piece of chocolate from his bag, opens it up, and gives one to Haru who takes it. "Okay, maybe this guy is great like you say he is." She nods her head. "But he could have gone about that better. You had to find out in such a..." Enma couldn't say the rest because Haru had tears in her eyes.

She finds out because he kissed her best friend in front of her.

Sighing, Enma looks down at his feet. "Look, Haru..." He begins slowly. "I'm sorry. We barely know each other and I-I'm just not helping at all. I'm just angry and frustrated because you are such a nice girl." Haru giggles at that. He smiles ruefully back. "I'm sorry you had to experience that." Enma hates that boy. He doesn't know who he is, but he hates him.

"Hahi... It's okay Enma-san." She wipes at her eyes with the sleeve of his sweater. "I'm glad that someone is angry for me in my stead. I can't do that right so you're actually helping me a lot." She whispers this with such sincerity, such sadness, he wants to hold her. Wants to crush her against him and hug her for such a long time. But he doesn't. That would mean he likes her.

He frowns at that thought. _'D-Do I?'_ Enma has never truly liked anyone before in all his sixteen years. And sure, Haru is pretty (the most gorgeous person he's actually ever set eyes on he decided two minutes after talking to her earlier), but... _'But that's it, isn't it?'_ He's suddenly nervous sitting next to her as she continues to stare off into space. He notices that Haru's lashes are really long, that her lips are very pink, that her skin is very soft looking...

 _Thump! Thump! Thump!_

His heart beats loudly and Enma turns away from looking at her. Holding a hand close to his chest, the red head can feel a somewhat pleasant burn he's never felt before. _'E-Eh?'_ He wonders, confused. Haru suddenly gets up and stretches.

"Aaaahhhh!" She groans loudly. "That felt great." Turning to look down at Enma, she gives him a gummy smile, her eyes turning into crescents. His throat begins to feel dry and he so he takes a quick sip from his soda. "Thanks for listening to me, Enma-san. I needed someone to care." She tilts her head a bit to the right, her bangs clearing from her face. "I'm glad it was you." It must be the effect of the nearby street lamp, or maybe the fact that Haru is still in his sweater, but in that moment, one thing happens.

Enma falls in love.

He's sure this is love because he finds that he wants to protect Haru's smile, he wants to cherish her feelings, and to do anything to keep her happy. It's such an intense emotion that takes over him so suddenly, he almost wants to cry. He knows that one day, he'll marry this girl. Enma doesn't know how, but he's sure of it. As surer of anything life has thrown his way. Instead of telling her this, Enma settle by giving a small, watery laugh.

Haru helps him up from the slide and they pick up their junk food, tossing everything in the garbage. "Umm..." The girl tucks a strand of black hair behind her ear. "About your sweater, I'll give it back." Before he can tell her to keep it, Haru says something that makes his heart flutter. "Shall we meet here Wednesday? I'd also like to meet you again."

"Wow." He murmurs under his breath, absolutely ecstatic. A goofy grin takes over his face. "Yeah," he sighs deeply, "I'd like that too." The way he says it, it's clear he's starstruck by her. Even Haru could tell and she laughs, pink coloring her cheeks.

"Cool." Smiling, she brings a hand to hide a smile and uses her free one to wave good-bye to him. "See you later, Enma." He flushes at the lack of a honorific and that's when Haru takes off running.

"What... What was that?" He asks out loud, feeling a little hopeful. Chuckling, Enma runs home too, the adrenaline getting him there faster than usual.

Opening the door to his house (where a bunch of free loaders also live in), Enma doesn't notice the look on all his Guardians faces. They're looking at him, confused and a little upset. Koyo approaches Enma, irritated. "Loser! Where's all our stuff you were gonna get?" He demands hotly.

"We ate it." He says happily.

"You what?!" They cry.

It's Julie who raises a brow, noticing exactly what it was Enma had said. He feels a tiny smirk forming on his face, leaning into his chair. _' **We** , huh?' _Julie knows that look on his leader's face. That's the look of a man who has got the love bug. He chuckles at the thought of their Decimo being in love. _'And he's got it bad.'_

* * *

 _(A/N: Idk where I'm going with this. Please review and let me know what you think! Thank you.)_


	2. The Old Lady's Charms

.

 **A Scarlet Love**

.

.

.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! in any way.**

.

.

 _Summary:_ Enma quickly falls in love with Haru without really realizing who she is.

.

 _(A/N: I finished this chapter and decided to do a name change. It sounded way better this way. Lol.)_

* * *

"He's been like this all weekend." Julie tells Tsuna as he goes to pick up his leader from his class. Enma smiles widely to himself, sighing with bliss every now and then. Tsuna, along with Kyoko and Takeshi, watch their friend with interest. Enma had walked into class, not even saying hello, sat down and just... Smiled, sighed, smiled, sighed, etc.

He did this repeatedly all day long, unaware that people have been trying to get his attention. After second period, everyone in class just gave up. Enma was just unresponsive to everything. Julie laughs as he helps his Decimo up from his desk. Tsuna looks at his good friend, worried. "Is he...okay?" He questions.

Again, Julie laughs. "Oh yeah." He answers with a cheeky grin. "I'm guessing that Enma was bitten by the love bug."

"Love bug?!" Exclaims Tsuna out loud. Kyoko and Takeshi laugh at the revelation. "W-With who?!" It's Tsuna who asks, excited for his friend and eager to know who the lucky girl was.

Julie shrugs in response. "Don't know. After Friday evening, he was supposed to get our stuff but ended up coming home empty handed. Whoever he met, they ate all the food together." Suddenly, Enma snaps out of his love struck stupor and looks around. His red eyes widen with disbelief.

"School's over already?" Gasps Enma, horrified he missed a day of school by not paying attention. "Oh my gosh." Everyone laughs at him with good spirit. Tsuna shakes his head and places a hand on Enma's shoulder.

"Katou-kun was telling us about you meeting someone this weekend. Was it a girl?" The brunet wiggles his brows, enjoying how Enma's face starts to blend in with his hair. Together with the others, they begin to leave the school. "Tell us what happened." Kyoko comes from his other side and grins.

"I agree with Tsu-kun. I want to know everything about her!" She cheers. Tsuna blushes at the nickname his girlfriend has given him ever since they started dating. There's a voice behind them telling them to get a room (it's most likely Julie).

"G-Guys, come on! Stop teasing me!" Cries Enma, pulling away from Tsuna's hold. His cheeks are aflame, remembering the same emotion he felt when with that girl. Even though she's not nearby, his heart still thumps as if it was that same evening. Takeshi and Julie laugh, the group now approaching the school gates. "A-And Julie! Stop telling everyone my business!"

Julie puts his hands up in mock surrender. "Whatever you say Enma." Soon, his eyes travel to a busty looking older woman passing by the school. "See you guys later!" He calls out and whistles to the woman. "Hey beautiful!" He calls out, his form getting smaller and smaller. Everyone back by the gates shake their heads.

 _'I'm just surprised he came to school today.'_ Sweat dropping, Enma looks around for any of his other Guardians. Seeing that no one is near, he shrugs it off. He knows Adelheid works closely with Kyoya these days for Student Council (disciplinary/liquidation) duties. The others must also be at their clubs, except Shittopi. He smiles at the thought of his eccentric Guardian. _'She's probably looking for Gokudera. Speaking of Gokudera...'_ Looking around Tsuna, he's surprised that he's not at all around the Vongola Decimo.

His confusion must be written all over his face because Tsuna asks, "What is it?"

"Where's your loyal Storm Guardian?" The question throws Tsuna off guard, as if he also just realizes the silver haired teen is no where nearby. Takeshi steps in, hiding Kyoko's body from sight. It was just for a moment, but she looked incredibly sad for some reason.

"He's skipping today. Didn't feel like going to school." The baseball fan explains, his smile looking a little off. To Enma at least, Tsuna nods his head, not noticing anything different about his friends. Suspicious of his response, Enma just shrugs and begins to head home.

"I'll see you guys later." He tells them, quickly escaping his Vongola friends so that they'll stop pestering him about this weekend. _'Wednesday can't come by fast enough.'_ He thinks, a little skip in his step as he leaves the school property.

As an official member of the Going Home club, Enma stays true to its name and begins to head home. He passes by the local shrine on his way and looks at a vendor selling charms. A fairly old lady who stays at the shrine, he knows. Not one to pay attention to her much, he can't help but notice a familiar looking pair of legs lingering around the little shack.

"Eh?" Humming, Enma slows his pace and turns to look at a girl just standing, staring intensely at the charms. _'I know that uniform.'_ He tells himself, noting the well known all-girls uniform from one of Namimori's most elite schools. That school has every girl in a nicely tanned blazer with their school crest, white collared shirt, red ribbon, and a black plaid skirt. This girl in particular fits that description.

Enma can only see her backside, not knowing who she is. He stops walking and fidgets a bit. A warm feeling overcomes him by just looking at her. There's a pull Enma feels towards that girl but he shakes his head. _'That's not Haru.'_ He chides himself, already questioning his fickle feelings. _'There's no way that's Haru. Her hair is too short.'_

The Haru from the other day had long hair. It wasn't cut into a bob.

 _'Still...'_ Stealing a chance, the scarlet haired teenager walks a little further, approaching the girl from behind. "H-Haru...?" He whispers quietly.

"Hahi?" Turning around, Enma is surprised to find that it is Haru. Her eyes widen with surprise as she is greeted by a familiar pair of friendly, ruby orbs. "Oh!" She giggles lightly, tucking a loose strand of black hair behind her ear. Enma's heart thumps loudly at that.

And then he thinks, _'Crap, Haru's super smart?!'_ He almost can't believe it, but there she is. _'She's way out of my league!'_ He despairs a bit at that realization.

"Hi Enma-kun!" She waves, stalking towards him until she is right in front of the younger teen. She uses a honorific with this name this time, he notices with a bit of disappointment. "What a nice surprise!" Her voice is airy and light and the way she smiles at him, he completely forgets that same disappointment and can feel his knees buckle just by the sound of her voice.

"H-Hi Haru." He greets back, grinning shyly. "Y-You cut your hair?" Haru's face flushes and she grins sheepishly, a hand going behind her head.

"Yeah. I'm kind of nervous about it." She confesses. "D-Does it look...okay?" She asks him, suddenly worried for her appearance. Enma just nods his head quickly, too quickly he almost gets sick.

"You look gre—ahem," he clears his throat, "good. I mean, really good. It suits you." His tone is honest and Enma is rewarded with an eye candy kind of smile. She gives him a small thank you. The boy doesn't tell her that he thinks she'll look good in anything. He'll love her even if she was bald. "Sooo..." He begins, trying to strike up a conversation. "What're you doing here?"

"I'm here to buy a charm of course!" She exclaims, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

 _'No duh Loser Enma!'_ He scolds himself, flushing. "R-Right. Of course. What kind of charm?"

This time, it's Haru's turn to flush. Placing her hands behind her back, she kicks her foot a bit to the ground. "I'm..." She begins, looking flustered. Enma can't help but be curious.

 _'And she looks so cute.'_ He almost sighs out loud.

Almost.

"I'm buying... A love charm." She whispers quietly. The boy nods his head, understanding.

"I see. I see, so a love cha—A LOVE CHARM!?" He shouts. Haru shushes him and steps up to press her hand against his lips. His face begins to match his hair color at the feel of her skin. _'I'm right.'_ He thinks. _'She is soft.'_ He knows it's just her hand, but it's the softest hand in the world to him.

"Not so loud Enma-san!" Cries Haru, her cheeks pink. The elite high schooler seems embarrassed. "Hahi, it's taking all of my courage to just walk up to the lady and ask her for one." Her voice trembles a bit at that.

Enma narrows his eyes at that. _'Of course. How could I forget?'_ It hasn't even been a full week since she's had her heart broken and already she was trying to move on. Could someone be so in need of help, maybe even desperate enough, to ask for luck to be on their side? He remembers first seeing here, just standing there. Enma wonders how long she must have stood there, wonders what she could have been telling herself, encouraging herself to gather the strength to get something as silly as a charm.

Haru see's the calculative look on her friend's face and falters. Slowly, she brings her hand away and presses it close to her heart. She looks down to the ground. "It's... It's harder than it looks." Is all she can manage to say, her throat dry. Enma hears it and offers a small smile. He then reaches a hand out to her. "Eh?" Looking up, her brows furrow, questioning him what he's trying to say.

"Maybe you just need help." He offers. "We can go up together and get one for you, if you'd like?" It must have been the right thing to say because her eyes look watery before blinking them away. Haru grins at him, sparkling with joy.

"I'd like that!" She cheers, acquiescing to his offer. Haru greedily takes his hand and looks up to Enma, expectant. He's too busy looking at their joined hands to notice that she's waiting for him to walk up towards the charm shack. "Enma-san?" Haru questions loudly. He shakes his head and looks at Haru.

"Yesh?" Enma winces at his tongue being tied.

"Aren't we going to go up there?" Asks Haru, tilting her head to the side.

"Reah, I mean... Yeah." He clumsily walks Haru to the charms that are waiting for her. He tries not to blush as he almost falls twice before even making it over there. Haru giggles at that.

Soon, they stand before them and the old lady, who has been watching the two for a while, smiles warmly at them. "Good afternoon." She greets. "What can we interest a cute couple such as yourselves in?" They blush.

"O-Oh... No... It's... We're not..." Enma waves his free hand in a dismissive way. "We're not...like that." He tells the old lady slowly. She looks surprised. _'Yet.'_ A voice somewhere in his conscious assures him. Haru giggles nervously but doesn't let go of his hand.

"I'm here for a love charm. How much?" Haru is about to bring out her coin purse before Enma beats her to the punch. He had dug into his pocket the moment Haru finished talking.

 _'Thank God I remembered it today.'_ He thinks, happily as he is already struggling with opening his wallet. It's very hard to do with one hand.

"Hahi, Enma-san. I got it." She tries to tell him.

"Let me." He states. "You did buy my stuff the other day. It's the least I could do." It looks like she's about to deny his offer but one look at his determined gaze tells her that he's not taking "no" for an answer. So Haru relents, but does so with an appreciative gaze. Enma can feel his heart thud loudly at that. "Here obaa-san." He gives the old lady money for at least two charms. She smiles warmly at them.

"Both of you, feel free to pick a love charm. Careful of what you choose, these are special made ones, after all." Winking, the old lady slowly makes her way in the back with the money. Enma and Haru share a look before shrugging.

"That was weird." Comment Enma and Haru nods her head. The two browse through the many different kinds of incantations. There are two charms that stands out amongst others. Wrapped in a deep scarlet, Enma feels inclined to grab it. Something about it calls to him so he reaches for it. Haru follows his action, as if the other one called out to her.

He's about to open his until he notices that Haru just stares at her. "What's wrong?" He asks softly. She let's go of their hands to clutches her charm tightly.

"Hahi, I don't think I can do this." She admits, shaking a bit. Haru looks to her companion with a sorrowful look. "I'm sorry, you bought this for me but... I don't have the courage to open it." A wet laugh escapes her. Enma frowns.

She's more heartbroken than he thought.

Still, worried for her, Enma places his hands on her shoulders and brings her closer to him. "Hey..." He whispers softly. "Look at me." Bringing a hand under her chin, he lifts her head so he can see her. Try as Haru might, the corner of her eyes are wet and his heart goes out to her. "It's okay. I'm not mad. It's okay not to have courage at times like these. I'll..." He gulps at the brave words itching to come out. "If you'll let me... I can be your courage."

Haru takes in a sharp breath at that. "Really?" Hopeful, she asks, wanting to make sure it's okay with him.

"Yeah, of course." He and offers her his charm. "Here, why don't we do this? We open each other's charm and read them out loud, sound good?"

"Yes!" Wiping at her eyes, Haru hands over her charm and receives Enma's in return. "On three?" He nods. "One..."

"Two..."

" _Three!_ " They shout, opening the other one's fortune. Enma pulls out a thin, clean piece of wood. He goes over it and then looks at Haru. He observes as she reads his and...

 _'Did she just wince? Oh God...'_ Now he's the one lacking courage. _'I really don't want to know what that says.'_ Mentally groaning, he forces a grin. "Want to hear yours?"

"Suuure." Answers Haru, her voice pained. Now he really, **really** doesn't want to know what his says.

"Okay, yours says _'A_ _new love. A true love. Don't blink! Love is closer than you think.'_ " Haru brightens at that. _'Gosh, I hope this thing is talking about me.'_ Enma prays. Visibly sighing, Haru pauses then and looks at Enma.

"Umm... I'll read yours now. Ready?"

Enma's not ready.

But he nods.

"Okay. Your incantation reads; _A troublesome love. A bleak beginning._ And that's all it says, unfortunately." She shows him the charm. He takes it with slight disdain before going over it. Re-reading it, he prays even harder that Haru's charm is still talking about him.

 _'This sucks.'_ He pouts. Giggling, Haru clasps her hands together.

"Thank you so much, Enma-san." She gives a little bow. "You really helped me out again. This was actually kind of fun!"

"Right. Fun..." He dead pans. Haru laughs now, freely and high-spirited. It helps ease the painful blow he received from his charm and he can't help but smile at her.

 _'You're pretty when you laugh.'_ Enma thinks and suddenly, Haru is blushing.

"O-Oh. Thank you." She quiets down and Enma flushes.

 _'I did not just say that out loud?!'_ "I-I mean!" He tries to recover from his blunder. "That you're better when laughing!" He shouts, much to the confusion Haru is looking at him with. "N-Not to say that you aren't pretty when you're laughing! Because you ARE!" His voice pitches very high at the last word that they both flinch. "But uhh... Just... Laughing and smiling suits you better than crying."

Haru looks surprised to heard this. "Oh my, Enma-san. That's... That's so sweet." She sounds completely touched by his words. "Thank you."

Suddenly, a voice shouting her name from afar rings through the air. Enma looks around, curious because the voice sounds familiar. He doesn't recognize it completely though. He also doesn't see the way Haru rolls her eyes either. She's well acquainted with the person calling out for her. Hurriedly, she begins to run before twirling around quickly. "Enma-san!" Haru calls out. "Don't forget to meet me on Wednesday at the park! I'll be there around four!" She waves at him happily. "And thank you so much for today!" Again, she takes off.

Enma watches after her for a bit before she disappears around a corner. "Did you see the back of the charm, young man?" The old lady's voice grabs Enma's attention and he looks at her.

"Oh, no. Why? What's on there?" He asks her. She motions for him to switch the charms around and so he does. Still having Haru's, he see's the back and reads more of their luck.

Haru's charm has a "0% or 100%" while his just says "?%". Enma purses his lips at that and looks up again to the old lady. "What do these mean?"

"That's the percentage rate of finding love." She answers, grabbing a fan from her kimono's sleeve. She begins to fan herself.

 _'So Haru is a hit of miss with her love?'_ Just for her, he hopes it's the previous option. "And what if it doesn't have a number percentage?" He inquires, holding his charm out for the old lady to see.

She smiles. "Then I suppose it's up to you to determine your own percentage. I think that's more than lucky." Her voice is reassuring.

"I see." Enma clutches his charm tightly in his fists. It might be childish of him, but he's placing all of his hope into these charms of theirs. Especially his. _'It's decided then.'_ Using his will, Enma vows to himself then and there that he will fight with everything he has to get Haru to love him.

Or cry trying.

* * *

"Where the hell were you?!" Hayato shouts once Haru arrives next to him. "I've been looking for you _**all day.**_ "She plugs her ears before growling.

"Shut up Gokudera-san! You don't have to yell, I'm right here!" She argues back. "And look at you! Can't you at least _try_ to dress like a decent student? Namimori High has a really bad name you know. Everyone looks down on it." The Vongola Storm Guardian rolls his eyes before folding his arms across his chest.

"As if anyone will say anything to my face. I'm number one in the country. I'm the saving grace of that fucking school." He winces as Haru pinches him for his "lack of mannerism in front of a woman" no less. "Stop abusing me, dumb Haru!"

"Well stop being a Bakadera then!" The two glare at each other before turning away. They walk in silence for a bit, letting the tension ease away slowly before they begin to try again.

"Are you...okay?" Asks Hayato, speaking first and sparing a glance down at Haru beside him. She hums lightly at that, not giving him a real reply. Frowning, the silver haired teen gives a deep sigh. "Look, I know you're hurting." He cuts to the chase. Haru bites her lower lip. "I-I'll admit... Maybe the Juudaime shouldn't have done that." He sounds unsure.

She snorts.

"Okay, he should _not_ have done it." He gives her a, "You happy now?" gesture. She nods once. "But... Well, just..." Hayato struggles with what he has to say next.

"But what Gokudera-san?" She questions, her mood souring a bit. "I-I can't face them yet. I want a little more time." Her voice is filled with hurt and that's all Hayato needs to know before nodding.

"Okay." He says quietly. "Just... When you do feel like you're ready, let me know. You don't have to do this by yourself." Haru looks up to him, grateful for his understanding.

"Do you promise?"

"Yeah, I promise." He places a hand on top of Haru's hair and ruffles it. She cries out, annoyed. "Heh... We're family after all, stupid woman." She gasps at his confession. Those words coming from Hayato mean more to Haru than anything he's ever given her. Even if he hasn't really given her much. She smiles affectionately to herself, feeling warm.

 _'Thanks.'_ She doesn't say it out loud, but she knows he can hear it because he chuckles. Haru can't help but go back to just a few minutes ago when she was with Enma. She remembers her charm and looks up to Hayato. _'Love is closer than I think, huh?'_ The corner of her lips twitch and she ponders about it the rest of the way home.

* * *

 _(A/N: Haru, what are you doing? Did I mention this is a multi-fic? Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts and excitement! ...you know, if anyone is excited. Lol, smh._

 _Un-beta'd.)_


End file.
